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When we were in Bataan, the younger ones (compared to me) and the single ones spent one night dancing to the crazily wonderful songs of the late 80s and early 90s. Think Pump Up the Jam to Stars (I hope you comprehend...). The following morning, one of them found out that I actually knew the steps to Electric Youth and Sweets for my Sweet. She was furious that I didn't join them the night before and exacted a promise from me that i'd dance for them next year, because Holy Week in Bataan is a tradition for them.

So yeah, I know, Holy Week and the youngsters are dancing and laughing. But I digress.

I knew the steps to Electric Youth because I danced it onstage. That and "I'm beginning to think it's Christmas" (Chipmunks) and "Froggy Frog Frog" (?) are the only songs I really danced to in front of an 'established' audience (Oh, Ragga Muffin Girl too!). Of course, all those times in Streetlife, Padi's, Soundstage, etc. don't count, and the audience then seldom had their eyes on you, all the time. Which is very unlike school or company events.

I love to dance. But I could never really follow steps. I cannot even say am graceful. But I love to dance!!! So, although I was never considered as one of the 'dancers' in class, I still went on to be referred to as Grind Queen in what was then, the cooler places to be.

I can dance Boogie and Cha-cha fairly well though, but cannot tango nor swing if my life depended on it. And modesty aside, I know I can twist like a pro. But the last dance song I think that I knew all the steps was the "Pinoy Ako" song, mainly because my sister and I loved to dance it for Py then.

But now there is this challenge. Do I still know the steps to these old dance songs, even if I can't anymore deliver them? Even if only the Chorus? let me list them:

Maneouvers then was more Gary V.'s back-up dancers... but they ruled with RAVE STUMP and SA YAHWEH. Plus, they were darned good-looking.

Universal Motion Dancers (UMD) was more pang-masa, and they popularized a lot of really popular favorites but I think they will be best known for their STARS and ALWAYS. I loved them best for SHINE (shine like a star) though, with their oversized coats and batons. But their break-out song was MY GIRL with that girl (manager?) I can't name.

Streetboys came a lot later and their charm included some acrobatics. They came around the time my sister was getting interested in the pop culture of her time.

One of the early things to go for our generation is our eyesight, and more easily too if it was not perfect to start out with. We can blame it on the kind of media we grew up in, from computers to personal gadgets like media players. We don't even read books as paperbacks anymore, but as e-files we read from our PDAs. Thus, the strain on our eyes day in and day out.

Good thing there is such a site like http://www.ZenniOptical.com which offers $ 8 Zenni Optical Rx Eyeglasses. The site offers easily affordable glasses. One can choose from its eyeglass categories so whether you are looking for a plastc frame or a titanium one, they have it and are selling at the lowest possible price.

The site guarantees that even their $8 glasses have UV protection and are coated with anti-scratch. This then makes their eyeglasses the perfect thing to wear while reading under a tree, right on the beach, in the middle of summer.

They also provide a free microfiber cleaning cloth with orders so all patrons are at least guaranteed a ready way to care for their glasses.

Eyeglass-wearers will tell you that eyeglasses can be so expensive sometimes, especially if you require specialized lens. But with http://www.ZenniOptical.com, people won't necessarily have to break the bank.

Of course, those who will order glasses online should mind their face shape, especially their noses and eyebrows. As a general rule though, a friend once told me that I should wear glasses that will overwhelm my big nose so that it will flatter my face, but I think that's mostly for shades/sunglasses.

At the highest point of Mt. Sto. Tomas in Baguio lies this Pieta-inspired sculpture. Mt. Sto. Tomas is the highest place in Baguio and offers a 360-degree view of Baguio and La Union. The mountain is about 7,500 feet high which is still measly compared to other higher mountains in the north (like Ugu and Amuyao).

It's very windy and smog-gy here so the cross was anchored by wires to the ground.

Move over youtube. Live TV is the greater thing right now, with blogtv.com offering everybody the chance for a live broadcast to their audience. As their site says, 'all you need is a webcam and internet connection'.

The site allows you to play newscaster, counselor, talk show host and DJ aside from also providing an avenue for exhibitionism (not necessarily of the nude kind). The site is very navigable, with broadcasts categorized for easier subscription. Showcase your talent in a live show where you can even interact with your audience. That may mean instant feedback on how to improve your craft, ready suggestions or solutions to your problems or immediate appreciation of what you broadcast.

If youtube led to a lot of discoveries and Ellen show guestings, am sure blogtv.com will result in more!

He was very close with his uncle, who was more of a father figure to him than his real father was. So, when his uncle died, leaving behind a pregnant mistress, his initial plan was to adopt the child as his own and give the child his name.

Such was his loyalty to his philandering uncle... he believed his uncle wouldn't want that child to grow without.

But we dissuaded him from the notion. Besides, the mother wouldn't give her daughter, whom she named Althea, up.

Around three months after this child was born, Carlos fell in love with a single mom. They are now co-habiting and are scheduled to wed this coming December. He considers the love-child his own.

To say I fell in love with the Bataan beach house we stayed in will be an understatement. But I don't exactly want a beach house as grand and luxuriously-appointed as the one our hosts owned. I just want an expansive one where I can entertain friends and their families, and watch our youngs from the balcony. With a lovely view and clean sea and nice sand, of course.

Sigh.

Of course, I have to acknowledge that our hosts only got to have their beach house built around 2 years ago, and they're already pushing 60 and their kids are all smoking and out of college. But they've owned the land for around thirty years now and have started vacationing there with friends since then.

I want something like that. And I cannot figure out how we'd ever get there.

Of the Beatles, I was a John Lennon fan. But that doesn't mean that I didn't pay attention to Paul McCartney's talent and charm. He is the sweet-faced choir boy, after all.

And I loved his marriage to Linda. I fell in love with their marriage when Paul said in an interview that the most he and Linda spent apart is probably three days... because he sees no point in marrying someone only to be away from her.

If that's not an "Awww" moment, I don't know what is.

So I was really sad when his beloved passed away. And was scared and protective of him when he started dating Heather Mills, not because I think Heather was a witch and b!tch (which she later turned out to be) but I just didn't think a lot of people can find true love twice in a lifetime.

But they wed and for a while was happy. They even had a child. And then, they separated and got a divorce.

Maybe Paul never recovered from the loss of Linda, which made him a less than wonderful husband. Maybe he has quirks and whatever and only Linda really got him. Who knows?

But I believe he's not a jerk at all... and if he had failures, they cannot possibly be so big and so unforgivable. I believe it's Heather who's really a witch and a b!tch. She has lied so much just to sully Paul's name and reputation, even going as far as dragging the dead Linda into it. All because of money and fame. She kept acting like she was a victim (maybe even seeing a parallel in her life and Diana's) when Paul has always been the gracious, decent one.

I also don't really get the divorce system and the terms of awarding such scandalous amounts to bad spouses. Yes, Paul is worth millions but I don't think Heather is entitled to so much of it. I just feel so sorry for their child, because her mercenary mother will deprive her of a good father, for Heather is sure to forever badmouth Paul.

When I was in college, I stood my present height of 5'4" and a half and weigh between 93-98 lbs.

I started gaining weight in 2000. When I was active in mountaineering (2002), I already weighed around 110-115. And then I continued to balloon.

I blame a slower metabolism... or all my food binges catching up on me, because my appetite has actually been decreasing (or at least, the volume I can consume). I can't really do buffets and smorgasborgs justice anymore.

Despite exercising at the office gym, I got married at 120 lbs in December 2005. Three months after getting married, I started gaining weight so fast I really felt ugly for the first time in my life. But then, I think it was the marital happiness that caused the speedy weight gain. And of course, i'd rather be happy than skinny.

And so it went. When I got pregnant, I was already overweight at 140 lbs. But because of aversions and lack of appette during the pregnancy, I actually lost ten pounds in the first trimester. I topped the scales at 160 lbs. though when I was about to give birth.

Thanks to breastfeeding, two weeks after giving birth, i've already lost 12 lbs. Three weeks after, I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight of 140 lbs. But around Christmas, when I got my appetite back, I went up to 145-150 again.

But since February... I have been steadily losing weight eventhough I haven't gotten to exercising again. I am now 125 lbs with some parts still lumpy from the pregnancy. I thank breastfeeding and maybe have to concede that lack of sleep also helped.

I am more excited to jump on our treadmill again... but lack of sleep leaves me fatigued everyday. I really have to exercise though to tone my muscles and fit into my old (gimik) clothes. Because the downside to this is that my pre-pregnancy clothes don't fit anymore. And I don't have any budget for new ones yet. Sigh.

Our tour guide just pointed the shark out to me, i'm not sure what type of shark it was but it was only about 1-1.5 feet long. It was swimming very fast along the beach so taking its picture was a challenge... and it didn't linger.

I loved being on your knee when I was a child. And I looked up to you so much, I even felt that my loyalties should only lie with you.

But for the past years, I have learned a lot of things that destroyed my image of you. You're not anymore somone I really look up to. You're someone I never want to be... not anymore.

And weirdly enough, it has allowed me to reconcile with my Mom.

I still hate (strong word, yes, but such is my disappointment) a lot of the things you did, and a lot of things you still do. I hate having to realize that we never came first, that you didn't treat my mother right. But I will always love you. You're my father. I'm your daughter. And you'd always be my first hero.

I just wish though, that you'll spend your years loving us, prioritizing us, being with us. It's time you do, Pa.

A friend who's based in Hawaii is egging us to to visit her there. She is just so excited for us to be going to her favorite haunts and assures us that we need not worry over getting around Hawaii.

Hawaii Car Rental is, after all, a booming, trustworthy business that gets people to their destinations with the most minimal of hassles. Young drivers need not even pay fees and you need only pay when you're already there.

Where choice options are concerned, Hawaii car rental does not disappoint, my friend says. You can choose from among different makes and models of cars, like if you want something like your own car at home, or something you've always wanted to try driving (like a jeep or convertible).

Hawaii Car rental rates are also very competitive and affordable... you'd still have loads of money left for gas, trinkets and souvenirs, food binges and swimming/scuba diving equipment rentals.

So yes, my friend has pretty much assured us all that transportation won't be a problem when we get there. Now, we just have to mind the fares to actually get there.

I discovered Pinoyexchange.com back in 2002. I immediately found friends there... though my barkada then are no more. I also found dancing buddies there. I also got to go to Boracay because of the site. I fell in love with someone, only to get hurt. Then, years after, I married the pexer who won the Boracay trip.

Back then, I was among the top posters of the site.

Then I stopped posting there because the site was so lagged. And I discovered blogging instead.

But when I got pregnant, I found my way there again. And I discovered friends in the mothers there who kept me sane in the midst of all the changes and transitions.

Where else can you find a prettier, hotter, sexier, more intelligent bunch of Mommies? :) I got home at midnight last night, feeling very guilty and worried about my son, but refreshed and revived by the company of girlfriends.

But for my husband's family, going to Spain is a dream... a dream resulting from a childhood riddled with stories of how their clan comes from the Spanish Royal Family, and the clandestine affairs that brought this about.

So, although they're not after the throne or the wealth, going to Spain would be like coming home. A connecting with forefathers that grew in its streets, danced to its music, ate its spicy food and lived... to fight wars in a country very far away from their motherland.

Which is why its really great that there are a lot of cheap Spain hotels where one can stay while enjoying and exploring its beauty, its promises, its secrets. And of course, cheap Madrid hotels will allow us to walk on the same streets that our own Philippine heroes walked on over a century ago.

Spain caters to many in different ways. The local music scene, the savory dishes, and fashion all appeal to travellers. The country also appeals to honeymooners very much, with cheap Barcelona hotels adding to the sense of romance and passion. Cheap Alicante hotels and cheap Costa del Sol hotels offer walking-distance adventures to vacationing families.

Hotels can offer free parking (if you rented a car), free breakfast and meals (usually good for two), internet access (so you can easily upload your pictures to send to friends) and gym (so that all the food need not make you lose your waist). These hotels would prove very important in travelling to Spain on a budget, something my husband's family is currently cooking up.

The dream is that all cousins with their families will take this trip and tell their fathers about, those fathers who brought them up with love and longing for Spain.

The reunion with my college classmates pushed thru.... but there was only nine of us who showed up. Still, it was a wonderful lunch at Kamayan's (I of course opted for Dad's crossover for the Dad's ham and Saisaki's tuna sashimi and ice cream) as we regaled each other with news.

Two of them, I really got to see only after ten years from graduating. Three of them I only got to see again last year, at our friend's wedding and another friend's daughter's birthday party.

For sure, she's already famous for her boo-boo... and for sure, Filipinos are baffled that she won and will represent us in the Miss World. And I cringe inside when I think of how she'll do when she's there.

Friends say she can still be taught, and maybe she really did just get nervous in her first pageant. But it was still obvious that she's not very fluent in speaking English. And she cannot plea nervousness because everyone who gets to that point IS nervous.

Howell. Melanie Marquez' case was different because she was a model... she didn't really need to converse in diplomatic duties.

Visiting a bat cave is a different thing to do while touring a place, because bats are not exactly cute creatures. This is the largest colony of Rousette fruit bats in the world and people visiting would be swamped by mosquitoes and overwhelmed by the smell of the bats' wastes (guano?).

Although creepy and freaky for me, I still loved the different experience it gave me because despite the fear of the bats, I also couldn't help but marvel at how much their home has been preserved, how they continue to thrive and how the place can teach about nature and conservation.

I cooked my first pancit today... my first ever. Yeah, it took me thirty years before I even attempted this simple dish, and all because my son turned five months today.

I got a recipe for pancit sotanghon off the net and slaved for almost two hours in the kitchen. It didin't taste great but it turned out good, bordering on very good. I didn't take a picture though (except the one with my son posing behind it) because I was already too tired after.

Pancit is one thing I can probably eat everyday... but I only eat bihon, miki bihon, canton and sotanghon. And molo. None of the malabon and luglog for me. And one of the best i've still tasted is the miki bihon we buy at that carinderia that's sort of attached to CEU, near the estero. It didn't have much veggies in it but I just really loved how it tasted.

Pancit at Conti's is also very delicious.

But for my family, my pancit is the best! (Or they can't have the cheesecake I also made)

... is that though she is talented, she's just not THAT talented. And, she looks cheap, trashy... like she doesn't take a bath or like she's some desperate sex worker who's down on her luck. Or okay, she looks like she's stuck in the 80's or something.

I'm sorry... I like her but I can't help but wince everytime I see her. Doesn't anyone sponsor her outfits? Can't she get anyone to sponsore her outfits?

Plus, she's short and her body type is a little weird so dressing her may be a challenge (while Vilma and Nora, though short, had beautifully proportioned bodies). So is that it? Things seldom fit her right?

But she is a thousand times more talented than Jasmine Trias will ever be... so if she lasts in American Idol because Pinoys all over the world vote with a vigilance, she would at least deserve it.

My SIL is kidding us about going to a fashion school after she finishes school. She is currently taking up HRIM (?) from Benilde and is graduating this October. She's also the one going to Paris as an immersion project.

I actually wouldn't be surprised if she goes through with this, since she is, after all, the girl who is considered the top fashionista in class. Her classmates would even check everyday what shoes she is wearing or how she accessorized herself. I'm guessing she came to ponder this when she chanced upon the site fashion-school-finder.com when she was looking for a fashion school in New York.

Of course, she'd be looking for New York fashion schools because that's where Fashion Week happens. Fashion-school-finder.com provides top fashion schools in this fashion capital of the world for everyone who wants to study fashion trends and styles. The site also offers fashion articles that tackle career options, journalism, marketing, merchandising and runway trends. One-stop shop comes to mind, doesn't it?

The site also lists fshion schools according to design, merchandising and marketing. It does make sense to go to school first so one can learn fashion first-hand, what works, what doesn't.

I guess in a way, it's still easier to divvy up properties when you have something to divide instead of there being nothing. I'm talking of when parents separate, or maybe when they die.

It's painful, true.

And deciding to sell something that had much history with the family... that is sure to break a heart. But can you blame a parent if she'd rather have nothing to do with the family resthouse anymore after knowing your father and her mistress slept in the same bed she used to call her own?

I wouldn't.

But yeah, it sort of invalidates all the good times you had as a child there.

But the division of properties when parents separate... it must be really terrible for the children, for they make the separation more tangible, more real.

I advised my friend to hire professionals (brokers or real estate agencies) in dealing with this thing. Because the situation with her husband will just drag on and on if she doesn't claim the power over the properties she's asked for herself and her kids. And I know that the least thing she needs right now is to come off as a beggar.

But some of her kids are raging over her decision to sell their resthouse. And I could see it in their eyes, how they think she's to blame, how they think she's making the already awful situation worse.

*~*

On the other hand, I wish parents with properties would take it upon themselves to already divide it among their kids while they're still alive. It's the responsible thing to do. Children are more likely to respect the decision when they know it came from their parents. Leaving kids to divide your properties among themselves when you're already gone will leave much room to wondering, second-guessing and squabbling.

nd not because they're all suddenly greedy, ungrateful kids. It's just that properties leave much promise and responsibility, which will add to each child's comforts or frustration.

Today is your day, your mountain is waiting, so get on your way. - Dr Seuss

Did you climb your mountain today?

I don't think I did. I was actually not even in the mood to blog so I just whiled away my afternoon chatting with Pex Mommies and organizing an EB at Dampa. I'm so craving fresh oysters, but haven't had it for a long time so am scared if I still have the stomach for it.

And crabs. I crave crabs! So we're having crabs! But that's still next week.

I'm not sure if it is the same abroad but pawnshops and watch buyers are like 7-11s here, you are sure to see at least one wherever you go. I'm also not sure if it is a cultural or universal thing, an expected mode of behavior for those who find themselves cash-strapped.

Jewelry buyers also haunt offices, or at least they did where I used to work. I guess it is because of the fact that people usually invest in jewelries when they have money, knowing that it can easily be pawned or sold in times of need.

Ever wondered why gold prices suddenly fall around enrollment times or Holidays? The reason is that parents are likely to have sold precious pieces to finance tuition fees and have more money to buy gifts or necessary appliances.

And after Holidays, gold is likely to cost more because jewelries are hot items to give to the people we truly love and cherish (mostly, wives and mothers).

When selling jewelries, I believe heirloom pieces might get higher offers, and of course there is quality of the gold (or karats) considered and if the piece/pieces contains gems, whether semi-precious stones or really precious stones. Diamonds will certainly appeal to diamond buyers, most specially those that have really intricate cuts and clarity.

Pawnshop commercials would often remind you of what ancestors must have probably done to sustain the family, with jewelries wrapped in white hankerchiefs and sad expressions over jewelry that was dreamt to be handed over from generation to generation, a supposed tangible inheritance. But we do what we have to do, just as they did what must be done.

(aside: The famous Monique Lhuillier came from a clan of jewelry buyers in Cebu)

When pawning stuff, I think one is given a certain amount of days to repay the loan made using the jewelry as collateral. If you don't pay in time, you lose the jewelry. But some opt to just sell them, maybe needing a bigger amount of cash or knowing they wouldn't be able to afford to get the piece back anyway.

Some also go to consignees because jewelry consignment is a booming business now, and offers are closer to your jewelries actual value. They in turn aggressively market the pieces after improving it some.

However way jewelry is sold, the important thing is that it really is a good investment, a really great fallback in times of need.

My Mom was generally just exhausted most of the time she'd come back home from work during my childhood. But sometimes, she'd surprise even herself. She liked bringing home board games and what-not which the family can play, and one of the things we'd usually lose sleep over is playing bingo games.

I think we played bingo using three different bingo sets at least until we got preoccupied with adolescence concerns. But the love for the game is still alive in me, and I even told my husband before that I want one for our home because the game is such a good bonding game.

A wedding is probably one of the greatest, biggest, most expensive and most hopeful parties ever in someone's life. You gather friends and family together to witness your commitment to somebody else's body and soul.

It's also the first party a married couple hosts, and is a celebration, not of something accomplished in the past but of a new life ahead with a new family.